The endorsements keep coming in for Rick Noriega. Here’s an email Wes Clark sent to his list:
20 months ago I asked you to take a chance. To help a veteran, who had been drafted into his race, facing long odds and an entrenched Republican incumbent with a huge campaign war chest in a red state.
Today, we call that candidate Senator Jim Webb.
I am asking you to take another chance. Lt. Col. Rick Noriega is challenging Republican John Cornyn for Texas’ U.S. Senate seat. Rick served honorably in Afghanistan after the attacks on 9/11. Like Jim and me, he was drafted into his race.
Now, I need you to support Rick, as you did for Jim and me. Contribute to his campaign today!
http://www.actblue.com/page/supportrick
Today, George W. Bush is holding two closed-door fundraisers for Rick’s opponent, John Cornyn. We shouldn’t be surprised as John Cornyn has been a reliable rubber stamp for Bush’s policies. Cornyn has consistently voted to continue Bush’s failed strategy in Iraq. He voted against Jim Webb’s Dwell Time legislation, which would have ensured that our men and women in uniform spend as much time at home as they do deployed.
And just last week, John Cornyn once again voted against providing health insurance for poor children. His reward for such fealty to the Administration was a fundraiser that same night held by Dick Cheney in Texas and now two more fundraisers tonight with George W. Bush.
Texas and America deserve better than another rubber stamp. Help send John Cornyn home with George W. Bush in 2008. Contribute to Rick Noriega’s campaign today!http://www.actblue.com/page/supportrick
I’ve met Rick personally, and we need him to be the next U.S. Senator from Texas.
At a time when we are facing increasingly serious foreign policy and national security challenges, while needing to repair this Administration’s assault on the Constitution, Rick’s leadership and knowledge will be of paramount importance.Rick serves as a State Representative from Houston and a Lieutenant Colonel in the Texas National Guard who served a tour of duty in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He joined the Army in 1979 in response to the Iranian Hostage Crisis. Since 2005, Lt. Col. Noriega served as Laredo Border Sector Commander in Operation Jump Start and as the Incident Commander at the George R. Brown Convention Center for evacuees to Houston in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Rick Noriega’s background as a military man for nearly three decades will provide a vital perspective and fill a needed gap among our leaders as we work to rebuild international alliances and confront the many obstacles to peace and prosperity here, and around the world.
Please add Rick’s voice to the U.S. Senate by contributing to Rick’s campaign today!http://www.actblue.com/page/supportrick
Your support of me when I was drafted into the Presidential race helped me hit the ground running. Your early support of Jim Webb laid the groundwork for the biggest victory of the entire 2006 elections. Now we have the chance to top that. To win a U.S. Senate seat for Democrats in George W. Bush’s home state.
Contribute to Rick Noriega’s campaign today and send George W. Bush a message while he’s fundraising for Rick’s opponent!
http://www.actblue.com/page/supportrick
Rick has answered the call to serve once again. I hope you will join him.
Sincerely,Wes Clark
I’ve got his press release beneath the fold. And you can add Sen. John Kerry to the fold as well, as he writes in this BOR diary. You may have noticed that each of them has set up his own ActBlue page for Noriega, like the one that I pointed to before. That’s all apparently a bit too confusing for the Republican Party of Texas to understand, as they sent out an email claiming the “netroots” (who knew they even knew of such a thing, since they don’t have one themselves?) had failed to respond to the calls for donations. Turns out that there’s also one master page that’s tracking all of the various partnering efforts for this week, and as you can see they’re approaching 1000 donors and $50,000 in contributions. Admittedly, that will fall short of what President Bush can do for his pal John Cornyn. But then, he can only do that so often. And we all can do this any time.
Recognizing America’s need for leaders who possess the necessary experience to protect national security while preserving the rights of citizens, one of the most highly-decorated military officers since General Dwight D. Eisenhower today endorsed Rick Noriega for U.S. Senate. General Wesley K. Clark noted State Representative Noriega’s military experience and legislative accomplishments as grounds for his support.
“At a time when we are facing increasingly serious foreign policy and national security challenges, while needing to repair this Administration’s assault on the Constitution, Lieutenant Colonel Noriega’s leadership and knowledge will be of paramount importance,” Clark said. “I am excited that Rick Noriega has, once again, answered the call to serve.”
Rick Noriega is a state Representative from Houston and a Lieutenant Colonel in the Texas National Guard who served a tour of duty in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He joined the Army in 1979 in response to the Iranian Hostage Crisis. Since 2005, Lt. Col. Noriega served as Laredo Border Sector Commander in Operation Jump Start and as the Incident Commander at the George R. Brown Convention Center for evacuees to Houston in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
“Veterans Day is next week, and I can think of no greater way to honor those who have served our country abroad than to support a fellow veteran’s bid to serve our country in the United States Senate. Rick Noriega’s background as a military man for nearly three decades will provide a vital perspective and fill a needed gap among our leaders as they work to rebuild international alliances and confront the many obstacles to peace and prosperity here, and around the world,” Clark added.
In his five terms in the Texas Legislature, Representative Noriega has committed himself to education, health care, veterans’ issues, and to ensuring that all Texans have the opportunity to succeed. During the 2007 legislative session, Rep. Noriega helped stop several partisan bills that would have eroded Texans’ voting rights.
“General Clark’s support underscores our nation’s need for leaders who have first-hand experience to deal with problems around the world,” Noriega said.